This season a curiously inspired Christopher Shannon put together the ultimate rave-cation wardrobe and did it all in the best comic sense. All the while the firmly London-centric design streamlined some of his more out-there ideas into chic menswear components, zipped up and puffed this way and that.
A nostalgic nod towards the British rite of passage which involves a booze cruise to a Balearic island of some sort, Shannon channelled the laddish precondition and adolescent spirit associated with his creations. The stringy bikini’s crudely strewn across shoulders was the first focal point but this was just Shannon’s way of piquing our curiosity. Moving on double denim was pieced together meticulously in icy blue, zips fragmented neon brights that were half concealed and a new collaboration with Zippo lighters made for a sparky series of jumpers.
Elsewhere Shannon was wise to repeat adaptions of the panel blocked tracksuits, suspended by reels of fabric cast as tape. A boyish shorts and shirt button up one piece in a modern perforated utility fabric with a striking silhouette was a highlight amongst others, including a blazing orange jacket cut from the same form of cloth.
To top off another tidy and suitably provocative collection, Shannon called upon jeweller Judy Blame to create some idiosyncratic brooches that harked back to Madchester’s Hacienda Club circa 1992. Alongside the Zippos on chains, this marked a more increased sensitivity to fine details on Shannon’s part.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com